Plane passengers left terrified after spotting RUSSIAN BOMBERS out of their window
PASSENGERS on a civilian aircraft were left in terror after two Russian bombers flew within striking distance.
The aircraft bound for the Swedish capital Stockholm from Reykjavik, Iceland were terrified after the planes came within reach of the craft close to Norweigan airspace.
According to reports the Russian jets which are capable of carrying nuclear missiles were accused of performing dangerous maneuvers risking passenger safety.
The bombers thought to be Tupolev Tu-22M models can travel at supersonic speeds meaning that they were just seconds away from the aircraft.
According to reports the aircraft had flown from Spain and were apparently on their way back to Russia but appeared in Icelandic territory close to the border with Norwegian airspace.
I looked out my window and within a short time I saw two Russian bombers flying in formation
And their stealth mission which has not been explained appeared to show they had their transponders turned off and had not reported their intended route.
Air traffic controllers working at Iceland’s Area Control Centre contacted the pilot to alert him to the proximity of the planes.
But identifying them was difficult because they shut off their radars.
The unidentified pilot said: “I looked out my window and within a short time I saw two Russian bombers flying in formation."
According to the pilot the planes could have been as close as just two kilometres below the passenger aircraft.
Russia's embassy in Iceland denied that the incident was intended to cause alarm.
Embassy spokesman Alexey Shadskiy said: "It's just propaganda to say that Russian jets fly without location devices when Nato planes also do it."
Four days ago Typhoon aircraft from RAF Lossiemouth intercepted two Russian Blackjack bombers and escorted them after they flew from Norway airspace and passed to the west of Shetland.
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The RAF denied the Russian jets entered UK air space.
A number of similar incidents have occured in recent times involving Russian military aircraft flying close to UK airspace.
Last November, Typhoon fighter jets were scrambled to intercept two Blackjack bombers.
One month earlier RAF jets were scrambled to intercept two similar aircraft flying over the North Sea.
In May 2015, Russian strategic bombers were intercepted after being identified north of Scotland.